Mayor Mandates Public Transit for City Employees

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Mayor Rahm Emanuel hasn't been quiet about his use of public transit, and he wants city employees to get comfortable using it too.

Under new travel mileage and reimbursement policies outlined Saturday, those who work for city government are required to use Chicago Transit Authority buses and trains as their main mode of transportation once they've clocked in.

If that's not feasible due to location, timing or security reasons, the employee will have to provide reasoning on reimbursement forms.

The policy was crafted after Emanuel ordered City Comptroller Amer Ahmad to conduct a thorough review of past mileage and travel practices to increase accountability and efficiency across city government, a release from the mayor's office said.

Mayor: Transit Gives Chicago an Economic Advantage

Sept. 20, 2011: Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has a "built it and they will come" attitude when it comes to the CTA's role in growing the city's economy.

(Published Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2011)

In his report, Ahmad said he identified several systemic weaknesses including unsupported or limited support for reimbursements, inadequate management review and follow up, unclear monitoring and audit controls, and questionable or inconsistent usage of other local transportation modes, the release said.

Ahmad found instances of employees being reimbursed for car washes, transportation to jury duty, parking tickets, excessive parking costs and even late fees on personal credit cards, the release said.

"Across the board we found inconsistency in the policies and enforcement in our departments and sister agencies,” Ahmad said. "This new policy provides the necessary structure to ensure that city travel is efficient and above all an appropriate use of city resources."